Kip Powick Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Passengers complained of long lines at Pearson International Airport Thursday because of a protest by security guards.Some passengers said it was complete chaos at the airport, as they experienced delays for several hours.Bassem Handy, a passenger who was on a flight from San Francisco to Toronto, said he and other passengers waited on the airport tarmac for 45 minutes. He said no announcement was made explaining the delays. When he called Air Canada’s concierge service, the airline said airport security is on a work-to-rule.“As a result of a work and labour issue with CATSA guards today, pre-board screening is very slow this evening. We do expect some delays for passengers travelling out of Toronto Pearson,” a spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority said in a recorded message.The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority or CATSA is responsible for passenger screening at airports across the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 It's amazing how 'other' employees don't take well to ex-red managers imposing bad working conditions.And it's not CATSA guards, it's GUARDA who is contracted to do the screening, under the supervision of CATSA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydee Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 They should "Reaganize" the whole lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 They were very quickly ordered back to work by a representative of Labour Canada. They must have forgot that no-one is allowed to exercise any type of Labour action in this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 But was their slowdown action a legal one? Were they in a legal strike position? If not, then Labour Canada didn't do anything wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Quite the veiled threat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 So...how's it going at YYZ this weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dork Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Aren't these the folks Air Canada was training as flight attendants...LOL.What a farce.DorkOne flush at a time....all together now.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpy Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Since this was an illegal job action, I hope that by now they have fired the person or persons responsible for organizing this.....? Let them know that while we can't fire all of you we will not tolerate illegal activity. It does nothing to help further your cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Perhaps we need some "illegal" job action, to make a point. After all, the Harper Dictatorship has removed our ability to demonstrate any "legal" job action. Harper needs to know that we are not sheep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 The Problem starts at the top...http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/deeper-cuts-mean-bigger-bonuses-senior-bureaucrats-told/article2197020/Axe-wielding executives in the public service stand to earn big bonuses based on how much they cut in the run-up to the 2012 federal budget.Treasury Board President Tony Clement says 40 per cent of “at risk” pay for senior managers will be based on how much they contribute to the Conservatives’ target of finding at least $4-billion a year in permanent savings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 The Problem starts at the top...http://www.theglobea...article2197020/Axe-wielding executives in the public service stand to earn big bonuses based on how much they cut in the run-up to the 2012 federal budget.Treasury Board President Tony Clement says 40 per cent of "at risk" pay for senior managers will be based on how much they contribute to the Conservatives' target of finding at least $4-billion a year in permanent savings.Government policy could well be an issue here. More likely, it's government incompetence, as in contracting out the work, and then accepting a low bid contract, leaving it for the contractor to figure out how to make money on it.The scheduling concept Garda wishes to implement is allegedly the same used for Ontario hospital employees. They bid on less desirable shifts, i.e. who would take the smallest shift premium to work those shifts. They get the shifts. It's amazing to me that a group or union that can organize a sit-in can't get its members to "high-ball" management, i.e. submit high bids. But I digress.CATSA has set up the system on the cheap, not just in Toronto but around the country.LaPresse has a story today that brand new x-ray machines at YUL aren't being used to the fullest because even though they are lot more effective at detecting fake explosives when police test the system, they slow down security checks. When CATSA cut the number of security guards at YUL (also GARDA), the security personnel began reverting to old x-ray machines (I have no idea why the old machines weren't removed) because they displayed a simple image and allowed staff to process passengers faster. Ergo, we passengers are less secure, but happier, and CATSA wants happy passengers who think they are secure.Clearly, the minister responsible for CATSA has a lot of explaining to do, because the feds haven't exactly stopped collecting the security fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 "CATSA wants happy passengers who think they are secure."The 'perfect' assessment of the security system as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Developments: Garda pulling recalcitrant screeners from YYZ.http://www.thestar.c...ng-lineups?bn=174 workers suspendedhttp://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/49973--garda-suspends-74-protesting-airport-screeners-at-pearson-airport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudder Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Airport security chaos escalating, public at risk, officers sayHarper gives companies green light to drop gloves"As professionals charged with protecting the public, officers cannot remain silent in the face of breaches of fundamental principles of airport security. We have an obligation to Canadians, international passengers, and our allies to keep our airports secure," said Mr. Cadeau.Professionals? He's kidding, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 "We are witnessing dangerous breaches in security screening protocols meant to prevent terrorist attacks and hostage-taking" said Tim Cadeau, a spokesperson for security screening officers at the airport.WELL ISN'T THAT A GREAT INVITATION TO TERRORISTS AROUND THE WORLD! COME TO TORONTO!How much more irresponsible can one get? Un-f***ing-believable. That's one messenger who should be fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Should security people be considered to be ‘essential service’ employees? As far as I know, they’re not, which means they should enjoy the same ‘rights’ the rest of us do. Unfortunately, we don’t have any real ‘Right’ and our government is keen to point that out. Take the time and ask a screener what the issue is. None of us would have stood by and done nothing while the manager, an apparent idiot, messed with our personal lives the way she did. Perhaps a little show of ‘union’ support may be in order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 It's not easy to offer support when the issues aren't known outside of their group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Is it just Pearson that has a contractor fill the screeners' roles or are all airports staffed by companies such as Garda? I used to be under the impression all screeners were CATSA employees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Is it just Pearson that has a contractor fill the screeners' roles or are all airports staffed by companies such as Garda? I used to be under the impression all screeners were CATSA employees.No, there are mainly contract employees. Garda certainly has a contract at YUL. This is a dispute the Conservatives have to wear. CATSA is their beast, but budget cutting they have not only outsourced the labour but reduced staffing. Cutting out the "gravy" as right wing politicians like to call it is never as easy as they claim.That being said, there is a valid contract, a grievance process, and a mediator in the file. Whatever happened Thursday when the dispute began should be water under the bridge but some of the same YYZ screeners were back at it yesterday, slowing the system. The biggest offenders were taken off the line and will probably be fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chockalicious Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 No, there are mainly contract employees. Garda certainly has a contract at YUL. This is a dispute the Conservatives have to wear. CATSA is their beast, but budget cutting they have not only outsourced the labour but reduced staffing. Cutting out the "gravy" as right wing politicians like to call it is never as easy as they claim.That being said, there is a valid contract, a grievance process, and a mediator in the file. Whatever happened Thursday when the dispute began should be water under the bridge but some of the same YYZ screeners were back at it yesterday, slowing the system. The biggest offenders were taken off the line and will probably be fired.Not sure how CATSA is the Conservative's beast as it was created by a Liberal government. At one point the amount of money collected by the airlines on behalf of CATSA far exceeded what was actually spent on security. I do not know when the tipping point was (or if it happened at all) but CATSA had never been the most efficient operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.